The High School Experience
by BadAtUsernames
Summary: When Lucy decides to go to a public school for the first time her senior year, she's worried it will be a flop. But, she soon meets Levy and gets a destructive lab partner. It sure makes her first semester exciting. But, Levy runs into some problems in her classes. A D student, a bully, and a star quarterback throw a wrench in her senior year. -High School AU-
1. Day 1

Day 1

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" Levy asked. The blonde was walking through the locker room, trying to find a spot for her lock and clothes.

"Yeah. I'm Lucy. I- do you have any room over here for my stuff?"

"Yeah, right here," Levy pointed to one of the open lockers. Lucy went to it and stuffed her things in the small cube. She started to change and Levy looked away, changing as well. Levy finished first, and waited a beat to turn, until she heard Lucy's lock close. When she did, she turned and held out a hand.

"I'm Levy." Lucy shook with her.

"I won't pry, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask," Levy said with a smile as she walked out of their locker section. She was halfway down the hall when she heard footsteps falling next to her.

"What are the people here like?" Lucy asked. Levy smiled up at her.

"That's a good question, actually. We have the same factions of people any school would have, but there's like this underlying respect we all have for each other. If you need help, you could go to almost anyone and they'd help you out. That's what I love about this grade. I can't say the same for the other grades, but we're a grade you can be proud of." I gave my typical "welcome the new kid" speech, but everything was true.

"That was… Oddly specific and sweet. But one other thing. What are the 'normal factions' you were talking about?"

"You know, the same kind of people you'd find at any school. The cliques." Lucy looked like Levy beat her over the head with a pillow, not hurt, but dazed and confused.

Lucy blushed as she spoke,"I've never been to school before. I've been homeschooled. I don't really know what you're talking about." But, Levy only smiled brighter, and Lucy had no choice but to smile back.

"No big deal," Levy said, "You just had to say something! What I meant was like jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, arts kids and popular kids."

"Oh, alright. And who's the nicest?"

"Well, that's kind of what I was saying, they all are, which isn't typical. There are only a few bad eggs in our grade."

"Oh. Alright." They got to the bathroom and Levy stepped into a stall. A moment later, they were out on the gymnasium floor.

"Is she one of the jocks?" Lucy asked as they passed a girl with red hair doing insanely deep stretches.

Levy giggled, Oh yeah. She's on the football team." Lucy didn't say anything, her jaw just hung open. Levy laughed again.

"Her name's Erza. She's popular _and_ a jock."

"And nice?" Lucy asked.

"She's nice, but a little intense when it comes to… well, anything, really."

"Got it. And her?" Lucy pointed to a girl with white hair who was talking to a girl with purple hair. The white haired girl was doing a back bridge as she spoke.

"She's a cheerleader. Her name's Mirajane and she's had a hard time, but she's really nice." A whistle blew and the class lined up for attendance. Like usual, the teacher took pity on the new kid and told Lucy where to stand. They did their opening stretches, which Lucy picked up on, since they were shouted out by the teacher. Levy noticed she kept looking at the dividers at the center of the gym.

"The boys warm up on that side," Levy said as she walked up to Lucy. They had just finished warm ups, and groups of friends were getting together to decide what to do. There were choices of wiffle ball, volleyball, basketball in the gym, or walk the cross country track.

"So, what do you want to do?" Levy asked.

"Considering Erza is going to volleyball, Mira's going to wiffle ball, and I hate basketball, walking the track might be the best option," Lucy said.

"I couldn't agree more," Levy agreed with a smile. They filed in line behind some other students and a teacher led them out to the track. It was kind of like a wilderness trail behind the school. It connected the parking lot of the high school to the bus depot, behind the football stadium, and ended behind the parking lot of one of the lower schools. The trail itself was mostly dirt, pebbles, and a little bit of grass here and there. The very beginning, near the parking lot, was actually pretty and serene. The path started with a downward slope, then evened out. There were trees on a hill to the right, with a bit of a clearing to the left then a down slope that led to a stream.

"Does every school have one of these?" Lucy asked in amazement.

Levy laughed, "No, but trust me. When you've seen this place as much as our students have, it kind of loses its appeal. Especially when you see the second entrance."

Lucy gave her a confused look again, but Levy continued, "A lot of clubs use this area. Cross country, the Haunted Trail is held out here, science projects for Environmental science sometimes go on. Even the TV class does some of their projects out here. I did one when I took the introductory class, but I didn't take the advanced this year."

"What did you take?"

"Well, my schedule goes Gym, AP Chemistry, AP French 5, AP Calc, AP Physics, AP English, lunch, AP European History, and Creative Writing."

Lucy shook her head, "That's insane. How do you have time to study and be with friends and go to clubs and have a job?"

"I don't. I have an eidetic memory, I don't have many friends _to_ hang out with. I'm only in a few clubs- one of which is National Honor Society which tutors every week. And I tutor for money on the side with younger kids. I spend most of my time writing for another club, or reading."

"Hmm. I guess that- Oh my god," Lucy's hand flew to her nose, "What _is_ that?" It was like they hit a wall of stench. And it was only getting worse.

"There's some kind of sewage treatment facility just down the path," Levy looked ahead for it, "Right here." There was a little fenced in building to the left. It reeked like exactly what you would think.

"Oh my god," Lucy repeated, "We're never walking the trail again."

"I know, but it's kind of like an initiation." Lucy just shook her head and laughed.

"Is this something you get used to?" she asked. Levy wasn't even holding her nose.

"Yeah, you just kind of accept it. On some bad days you can smell it from the football stadium." Lucy groaned. They ended up talking about clubs and what Lucy could get involved in. She even convinced Levy that she should sign up to do a few more things.

A little bit later, the two girls hiked up the hill that led out of the trail. Levy was huffing a little, but otherwise, they got out unscathed. They walked back to the school just in time for second period to start. In other words: they were late. The girls ran through the locker rooms and got changed as fast as they could, some just leaving their gym clothes on. Lucy frantically tried to open her locker and began to sweat when it wouldn't open. She ended up shoving her stuff in with Levy's and they ran to class.

* * *

The period was just starting when I finally got there, drenched in sweat. The bell hadn't rung yet, thank God, but I got a look from Mr. Conbolt, the Anatomy teacher. I took a seat and he started his plan for the period.

"First double lab of the year! Two wonderful periods just for the science of the body. Or, not so wonderful depending on who you are," he gave a look to one of the boys a few rows up from me, "Whatever the case, you'll be assigned partners and doing a small project today. Get to know each other while mixing chemicals to preserve an insect." He read out the list of names with their partners as he went around the room. He told us this would be our seats for the marking period, or however long he decided to keep us there. Mr. Conbolt handed out the lab packets. As he did so, one girl's hand slowly went up. She wore a white sweater and a large scarf and her pink hair was in a bun, but that was about all I could see of her.

"Um, excuse me?" she asked. Her voice was so small, I could barely hear it over the air conditioning. She held her hand there until Mr. Conbolt saw her.

"Yes, Aries?" he prompted. He was so close to her, she decided to whisper, even more than she already was.

"Oh, good question. One I don't really care for, but alright," the girl' cheeks flared red as he spoke, "She asked why we were doing this in Anatomy. It sounded more like a Chemistry or Biology project. But, aren't those the classes you've had in the past two years?" Aries's face got even redder, which I didn't think would be possible. I looked at the sheet. It was simple. There was mixing water and a powder with another liquid, but we had to pick them out by their scientific names.

The kid next to me had a slightly lighter shade of pink hair than the girl currently wishing she could literally curl into herself. He was looking out the window towards senior court and had his bag at his feet. No notebook, no folder, just a number two Dixon Ticonderoga. Suddenly, he looked over at his lab sheet as if he was just noticing it. He lifted it slightly and looked over at me next.

"Oh, hey. You that new girl?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Lucy. Have we met?" I asked, "Last period, were you in the gym?"

"Yeah, just coming back from the office," he responded, "Came in late and got a Wednesday school for too many tardies."

"I have a few questions from that, but we'll start with what is a Wednesday school?"

"Like Saturday school, but on Wednesday. Ya gotta stay in detention until 5."

"Oh. Alright…" I looked back down at my lab sheet. To my surprise, he did too.

"Okay, do you know what any of this means?" he asked. It sounded like he had been holding it in for the past few minutes.

"Yeah, why? You don't?"

"I'm not too good at the whole science deal."

"Oh, well… I guess I'll teach you. Since I'm your partner. How much do you understand?"

"I understand the heading and where to put my name, but that's it."

"Oh boy."

For the next hour, I explained the names of chemicals, the mixing process, and even how to use a triple beam balance properly. He told me his name and I told him where I had transferred from. We were the last ones to finish, but when we did, it was… spectacular, in a way. We called Mr. Conbolt over, since he needed to be there to see the final product. We put our goggles on and I let Natsu pour the chemicals into the final vial.

"Let 'er rip, Dragneel," Mr. Conbolt gave the thumbs up to go.

Mr. Conbolt was too far away, but I heard Natsu when he said, "I'm like 75% sure this won't explode on us."

"Oh my god," I whispered and barely had a chance to move before he poured the mixtures together. I quickly jumped behind him. He stood back up and it looked like it was fine. I poked my head out and saw the mixture start to fizzle. It bubbled up and over the rim as foam and the foam hardened. The bubbles coming out of the liquid underneath were getting smaller. The kids at neighboring tables got up, regardless of the fact that it looked like the bubbling was stopping. Good thing they did. There was a violent bubbling again when one of the chairs tapped the table as a kid walked away.

Mr. Conbolt had looked on peacefully until now, "Hide your eyes!" He turned away and Natsu took after his lead. My cheeks burned as Natsu turned away, straight into me. He adjusted like he meant to do it and put his arm around me, as if shielding me from the vial. I turned with him and then the beaker exploded. I squeaked and pressed myself against him. I felt a sharp pain in my side and a few other pieces pelt me. A few seconds later, I recovered from the shock and realized that we were still pressed together. I admit, I didn't quite jump back, but I did turn turn so we weren't in the same situation as before. I turned to look at the table where shards of glass lay and liquid spilled all over the floor. He put his arm down, but suddenly I was a lot more comfortable with standing so close to him.

Natsu looked from the table to me and I looked back at him, until something on my shirt caught his eye. He put his hand to my hip and looked at his hand.

"Oh my god. You need to go to the nurse," he said.

"You do, too," Mr. Conbolt said, "Just to be safe. And after that, be prepared to get a failing grade."

"But, Mr. Conbolt, plea-ah!" I started to move forward and there was another sharp pain in my side. Natsu put his hands on me to try to help steady me.

"Mr. Conbolt, I think you should give them some leeway, even if they were too stupid to get it right. They _did_ get hurt," said a girl with long, light blue hair.

"How about I just send them to the nurse for now," Mr. Conbolt said, "Natsu help her down while I call."

"Got it," he said. I tried not to move too much, and Natsu helped me out of the classroom, but I couldn't make it much farther until I was in too much pain.

"Get on my back," he said as soon as we got to the hallway and he closed the door. My shirt was stained at that point and sticking to me a little. So, I gently climbed onto his back and he brought me all the way to the nurse.

Turns out, I had a glass shard in my side. Not a big one, but one big enough to be a pain in my ass. I was bandaged up and sent home. All in all, Natsu probably wasn't the worst person I could have as a partner.

* * *

 _ **For future refrence, if I get anything wrong (especially with languages) please correct me! I haven't take French in 2 years (I stopped at French 3) and I never took Anatomy, I'm just going off of what friends say about the classes and what I remember! Review please!**_


	2. Crédit Supplémentaire

Crédit Supplémentaire

Levy grabbed her last book and and put it on top of the pile in her arms. She took one last look to make sure she had everything and grabbed the locker door. She closed it and as it locked shut she saw someone out of the corner of her eye and looked over. She jumped and squeaked as she dropped all her books. She quickly got down to start collecting them.

Evergreen just laughed, "Good one, stupid. Now come on. I'm going to be late to class and we need to talk."

She started to move and Levy grabbed anything else she didn't already have and tried to catch up with the much taller cheerleader.

Levy looked down and stayed quiet as Evergreen talked, "So I hear you and Laxus are in the same French class?"

Levy made to reply, but Evergreen held up her hand, "Don't speak. I already know you are. But what I need from you is to help Laxus. He needs better grades or his grandfather will make him quit the football team. And that can't happen. So first, you need to make sure that Laxus gets that extra credit."

Her head snapped up, "Bu-but it's due tomorrow," she responded.

"I know, dumbass. I'm in the other period," she rolled her eyes and flicked her hair over her shoulder, "I need you to write another paper for Laxus. I would, but essays bore me. And I hate reading French. So, that leaves out an essay on a French book, even if it is worth 20 points."

Levy thought for a second, then realized that she didn't have time. She would have to pick a new theme of the book and then get new evidence for it, then actually write the paper. All the sign ups she talked about with Lucy were today. She had a student council meeting, a Halloween Trail meeting, and signups for mock trial. She had no time.

"Evergreen, I can't I-" Levy began, then looked up at the girl in glasses. Behind the plastic frames was nothing but a stony glare of hatred.

"I mean, I'll try my best, even if I have to give him my essay," which is what she might have to do.

"Great! See you later, hon!" Evergreen said as she turned into her classroom. Levy walked faster to Physics. There was no way she could do it all.

* * *

There were a few more days where Levy and Lucy tried out the different sports. They were becoming fast friends. But one day, they were split up.

"Levy, can I see you to the side," her teacher asked just before she was up for bat in wiffle ball. Levy nodded and let herself be pulled to the side.

"I've noticed you haven't been… comfortable with these drills and sports," the teacher began.

"I haven't minded them. I mean, they do tire me out, but that's what sports are suppose to do, right?"

"Not to this extent. You've been sweating and out of breathe every day at the end of the period. We grade you on preparedness as well as performance and ability."

"I know. But I thought I was doing fine. What are you saying?"

"If you don't shape up, I'll have to fail you for not doing well enough in class. Normally I wouldn't do this, but I know you're shaping up to be valedictorian. If I do this it will bring you down in rank and will put a blemish on your record that I don't want, and neither do you. I've talked to Coach Gildarts and we have come up with a solution," Levy looked at her teacher skeptically, but let her continue, "We found a pair that would fit nicely."

"So… what? If I do this it will keep me with a good grade?"

"Yes! But not only that, you will help this other young man in the same way. He is on the football team and kept breaking into the weightlifting room during class. So, he'll be helping you get in shape in the lifting room, while also getting his workouts in for football and getting credit for it."

"This seems more sybiotic than mutualistic," Levy replied.

"It'll keep you in NHS, as valedictorian, and keep you on track to… what college did you want to go to?"

"MIT."

"Yeah, I don't think they accept a failing grade in gym," the teacher turned and walked away. When she glanced over her shoulder and realized Levy wasn't following her she yelled, "Come on, McGarden!" and kept walking. Levy followed after. She caught Lucy's glance from second base and mouthed "I'll tell you later."

They met up with Coach Gildarts and a tall boy with black hair and piercings. He was nearly as tall as Gildarts, and Levy had never seen anyone as big as him.

Gildarts Clive leaned down and spoke to her quietly, "Hi, Levy. Sorry about this. Cana told me you didn't mind gym and tried to get me to talk to Coach Tracy, but you know her. She's very intense when it comes to fitness. I couldn't really talk her out of it."

"It's alright. I don't want special treatment just because my friend's dad is the head gym teacher."

"Well, this already is special treatment, so get used to it," Coach Tracy said to break up their conversation, "This is Gajeel Redfox. He'll be the one bulking you up." Gajeel scowled down at her, so she frowned back, even though she wanted to cry inside. This would be terrible.

The next week, I had to teach Natsu how to do the lab again, but this time it wasn't as bad. He just didn't understand a few processes. Mr. Conbolt was easy on our grades. Or, on mine anyway. I don't know about Natsu, though.

Not until a few labs later, when Mr. Conbolt cornered me. He complimented my grades and how hard it must be, switching to a school in my senior year.

He quickly got to the point, "I just wish everyone in the class was doing as well as you. I see you're helping Natsu on lab days. Which is good, but he needs a full time tutor. Do you think you'd be okay with that?"

Lucy blushed, "Mr. Conbolt, I really can't. I have too much going on. I'm in the debate club, I'm looking for a job, and I'm trying to get into the writer's club here. With the writing itself on top of that, I'm not sure I'll have enough time to breath let alone tutor Natsu."

Mr. Conbolt looked a bit defeated, and sighed, "Alright. Well, I'll see what I can do on my own. Thanks for considering, Lucy."

"No problem, Mr. Conbolt. See you tomorrow."

* * *

"Okay, classe. Today we will be starting un nouveau projet," Monsieur Jonah said as he wrote "New Project" on the board. He outlined the parts of the project and gave out worksheets. The class had to create a dialogue about some aspect of France. They were going to be working with one partner that Monsieur Jonah chose. Levy listened intently and hoped she wouldn't hear the words "crédit supplémentaire". She knew if she did, she would get a visit from Evergreen.

"Et le projet avec le plus de créativité, la précision et le projet le plus bien fait obtiendrez un," Levy held her breath, "crédit supplémentaire."

"Shit," Levy huffed under her breath as her head slumped down on the desk.

* * *

"So, best project in the class gets extra credit, huh?" Evergreen snuck up behind Levy at her locker again. This time, she made herself known immediately.

"You're getting Laxus those points," she said. This wasn't a request, it was a demand.

"I got him the essay last time, I can't do this too." Levy had stayed up all night that night, writing Laxus a new essay. There was no way she was giving him her's.

"Yes, you can."

"No, I-" she was met with those eyes again and looked at the floor, "What I mean to say is, we don't pick groups. We get assigned our partners."

"Then you better find a way to make sure Laxus and you get paired together, or you and your partner don't get a better grade than him."

* * *

Levy looked around as she stepped into class. She sat in her seat and saw similar notes on the board as yesterday. The pairs for the dialogue were being picked today. Levy hoped she would be paired with Laxus. Actually, she didn't. She would rather take the lower grade if she didn't have to carry that jock's IQ all the way to the top to that extra credit. She looked around and found a few people she would rather partner with. Aries was pleasant and afraid to public speak. She knew they would get a decent grade, but not a winning one.

So, she waited. Monsieur Jonah came into the room and had a list. He started writing names on the board. He got to Laxus and paired him with…

"Damn," Levy whispered under her breath. It was Aries. Not only were her two partner choices taken- they took each other. Next ones down was "Levy - Gajeel". She looked a row over and back where the giant sat. He was currently sleeping and Levy was again wondering why he had taken the class. She guessed she would get the chance to ask now, instead of always talking about gym.

When the class broke to get in their groups, she walked up to him. He was asleep and his seat partner had vacated the vicinity as soon as his name was on the board. Levy poked him on the shoulder. And when he wouldn't wake up, she sat down next to him. She got out her phone and her notebook. She wrote the header down and started to look things up for the project. She crosses her legs and accidentally nudged Gajeel. Not thinking, she automatically apologized.

Finally, he woke up, "Fuckin- what the hell are you doin' here?"

"We got our partners? We're paired."

"Again? Tsch. Hell, I can't get away from you."

"What you don't want the smartest girl in the class as your partner?"

"Not if she's you."

"That's rude!"

"Eh. So what's the project?"

"We have to write about some aspect of France."

"French fries. French toast. French kissing," Levy blushed, "What's our pick, shortstop?"

"I was thinking food. France is big with their food. Like Champagne, Escargot, and Eclairs. They're all from France. I could make some mousse."

"I have a recipe for Steak Frit-ez."

"It's Steak Frites. And you don't have to."

"It's no big deal. My mom used to make the stuff all the time. I know it like the back of my hand."

"Is that why you take French?" Levy blushed again and realized what she was saying. She shouldn't be asking such a personal question when they didn't really know each other, and Gajeel seemed to agree. He shut down on her immediately.

"Not your business."

"Uh. Okay. I just was wondering if she wanted you to take the recipe."

"Doesn't matter. She doesn't really have much of say right now. Are we done here?"

"Well, there's a written component."

"I'll handle the food, you handle the writing."

Levy's face felt hot, "Okay." Her head snapped down to the paper and Gajeel took out his phone. She wondered why she had asked so many questions. While this wasn't unusual for her, it was when it came to pierced, probably tattooed, delinquent young men that try to torture her in gym class.

Levy took a deep breath and concentrated on the essay at hand. She weighed her options. She could do one of a few things, but she wanted to ask Gajeel something first. And to do that, she needed to become more acquainted with him, or he'd clench up like a clam.


	3. A Friday Night Fight

A Friday Night Fight

"Ms. Heartfilia, do you mind seeing me in my classroom?" the teacher across the hall came into my homeroom. I looked to Mr. Mine and he nodded to let me go. I followed her into her class and she sat behind her desk. I saw Levy in the corner of the room and her brow was furrowed. Unsurprisingly, I was no clearer on what was going on than she was.

"Lucy, I've been wanting to meet with you for a few days now, but I haven't gotten the chance," she said. I smiled at her awkwardly and clasped the handle of my purse.

"But then something was brought to my attention the other day and I wanted to ask you if you would like to be a part of the National Honor Society here. We have tutoring after school, with some paying opportunities. I've seen your grades and they're very good. Based on your class rank, you would be a great addition to the club."

I smiled wide this time, "Really? Wow. Do I have to apply in any way or get anything signed?"

"You'll need to sign these papers," she handed over a packet that she had out on her desk, "And get them back to me as soon as possible. We already have a student lined up for you to tutor."

"You-" I stopped. Of course they did, "Is that from a teacher request?" I said as I put my hand on my hip.

"Yes, actually. How did you know?"

"Because the teacher asked me and I said no."

"I'm so sorry," she looked flustered and she started shoving papers around. It seemed like she was trying to find something specific.

"I didn't know. I thought he was _going_ to talk to you."

"It's okay," I stopped her before she got too unprofessional, "I'll do it. I'll get this stuff in and get to tutoring as soon as I can."

She sounded exhausted when she said, "Thank you."

* * *

"So, have you been able to find other people to talk to?" Levy asked. It was a few days after her first meeting with Gajeel. Things between Lucy and Levy had become a bit strained since this was the only class they shared.

"Yeah. Erza's not that bad. A little scary and a lot intense, but she's been showing me how to play volleyball. She thinks I might be able to make the team in the spring."

"That's great!" Levy replied, "Um, so I remember you saying you liked Kemu Zaleon?"

"Oh, yeah! I love his books," Lucy replied, "Why?"

"Well, there's a trivia game going on at the library on Saturday. It's celebrating his last book being published posthumously. Did you want to go with me?"

"Sure! What time?"

"Two thirty."

"Do you need a ride?"

"If you don't mind."

"Of course not!" The whistle blew and Lucy and Levy went to their respective places to warm up, and split up after that. Lucy pulled her knee highs up for volleyball, and Levy went into the lifting room. She always got in there before Gajeel and just waited on the bench.

"Stationary bike for fifteen, two pound weights for fifteen."

That was the way he always did it. He came in, told her what they would be doing, then he did the exercises with her, at a heightened level. If she did fifteen minutes on level 2, he did fifteen minutes on level 7. If she did fifteen minutes with two pound weights, he would do fifteen minutes with twenty pound weights. So that's what they did today. Levy tried to make conversation on the first two days, then gave up entirely. She realized she should save her energy because her legs would feel wobbly almost all day after this. She had no calories to spare.

After today, not only did her legs feel wobbly, her arms burned as well. Thank god for double lab.

* * *

Like every other night, I logged onto my computer. I went into my libraries to open a document and ended up just shuffling things around. I had the most organized Documents folder I had ever had. But, then I realized- _What am I doing?_ Usually I would be on the computer to write, but right now, no inspiration was striking. I was just arranging things. It wasn't anything of substance. So, I sent Levy a text, hoping she could come over.

 _What's up?_

She didn't text me back and I needed a cure to this writer's block problem. I remembered Natsu's conversation with me during Anatomy. He asked what I liked to do. I told him I liked school and why. He told me why he liked football. He simply asked, "Have you ever been to a football game?" I had shaken my head, and he replied with the same gesture.

"You have no idea what you're missing. There's a rain date home game tonight at seven. I hope I'll see you there." And the bell rang. I didn't get to tell him I probably wouldn't go. But, thinking on it now, I just might. There was still a half an hour until the game.

I texted Levy again: _You busy? I want to go to the football game. Will you come with me?_

Twelve minutes later, Levy texted back: _Can't. Have to deal with something. See you at school tomorrow._

Five minutes later, I wrote a note for my dad, stole the keys and grabbed my nearest sweatshirt. I ran out to the car and jumped in. I counted the money in my wallet, hoped I had enough, then I took off down the street.

I finally go to the school, and it hadn't started yet. I tied the sweatshirt around my waist, unsure of how cold it gets here at night. I paid the entrance fee and tried to find a seat in the stands. I found one in the row next to the band. I was far enough that they weren't too loud, but close enough to hear really well.

I didn't know why I was there. I was sitting alone. I didn't know many people at the school. Actually, I knew approximately Levy, Erza, Mira (kind of), and Natsu. I didn't know the cheerleaders' cheers. And I had no idea about football. So I didn't watch the game. I decided to watch what Natsu talked about- the stadium. And that was probably one of the best choices of my life. The crowd sang along to the songs, cheered with the cheerleaders and did their own. The wave must have come by about five times. The band performed their halftime show for those still in the stands and the away team's band who took their place in our stands for the show. Half of the people went to the concession stand and I could see the throng of people from my seat.

First, I watched the show and saw the formations and flags. Then, I went to the concession stand. I didn't buy anything, just people watched. Even by myself, it was a lot of fun. I knew I had to do it again.

* * *

"We're gonna try pushups, situps, and all that stuff. Today is the fitness test that everyone has to do and that includes us."

"Okay."

"You first. Do as many pushups as you can on the mat and then we'll switch." Levy got on her hands and knees and got into pushup position. She started and got to ten before he called for her to stop.

"I could have kept going!"

"If you want your heart to explode." He got in push up position and began. He didn't stop until he got to ninety.

"You're barely breathing heavy," Levy noted.

"I'm in shape. Now write down the number I got on the mirror like I did for you." Levy turned around and saw an Expo marker hanging from the mirror. "Shrimp" and "Gajeel" were written in his handwriting with 10 under "Shrimp" and Levy wrote 90 under his name.

"So why don't you put this much effort into class?" Levy asked, "You obviously mastered this." He rolled his eyes.

"You have to keep up with it, or you'll lose it. And I don't give a shit about class, so. Time for sit ups." Again, Levy got done ten and Gajeel got an extreme amount.

"How are those steak frites coming?" Levy asked.

"I made some last night for my old man. He didn't complain. Pull ups." Levy couldn't even reach the bar right, so she got zero, and Gajeel got something ridiculous.

"What's your grade in French?"

"What's your grade in gym?"

She was quiet again. She should have known to follow her talking rule. If he was going to keep shutting her out in gym, she would have to keep killing him with kindness in French.


	4. Eyes Are The Window To The Soul

Eyes Are the Window to the Soul

"Partner Quiz" was written on the board when they walked into Monsieur Jonah's room. Levy knew she should help Laxus, or Evergreen would skin her, but she decided to take her chances.

"Want a partner?"

"No, but I gotta," Gajeel replied. Once he was out of gym class, he would be more open to help because it wasn't outright connected to his brawn. At least, that's what Levy hoped.

"If I give you the answers on this quiz, will you let me tutor you so you can do the next quiz yourself?"

"How 'bout you give me the answers and we'll see, Shrimp."

"Agreed," Levy sat down in the chair next to him. She glanced over at Laxus, who was sitting near the windows. He was looking back at her with a scowl.

"Oi, number one?" Levy was knocked out of her gaze by the lug next to her. She looked down at the paper. Part 1 was vocab, part 2 was culture, and part 3 was verbs. Levy read and wrote the answers on her paper at top speed.

" D."

"Damn, Shrimp. You fluent or something?"

"If you got to French 5, you should be nearly fluent." He grunted in return. They finished the quiz together in relative silence.

"52," Gajeel said. Levy turned her sheet over.

"The quiz ends at 30."

"No, that's my grade."

"Oh."

"Not what the valedictorian would get, huh?"

"It's higher than I braced myself for. I'm free for school tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays," Levy said as she walked back over to her seat. She wanted to leave the invitation open, instead of making him feel like she was forcing it. She put all her books together and put some in her bag and the bell rang. She didn't see Gajeel leave in the blur of people, but she did feel a hand squeeze her arm as it pulled her out of the room. She was put between a huge guy and the lockers and her arm was nearly thrown back at her. She half expected the man was Gajeel, which scared her. She looked up and found that it was Laxus instead. She looked at his face and saw his eyes. They looked like they were trying to erase her.

"You're supposed to be _my_ partner. Not some scumbag's."

"He helps me with gym, I wanted to help him out in French for once."

"Yeah? Well how about since you were being a saint, I don't tell Evergreen _this_ time. But next time, she's getting an earful."

"Yo, Laxus. What the hell, man?" Natsu and Lucy came out of their double lab a bit late. Lucy came up beside Levy and pulled her out of the way, behind Natsu.

"You're seriously gonna corner her like that?" he asked.

"Isn't this the guy you're tutoring?" Levy asked. Lucy nodded.

"It's none of your business, Dragneel," Laxus replied.

"Yeah. That's why we were in class late, Conbolt wanted to talk to us about it, make sure we both knew about the arrangement," Lucy replied to Levy.

"Just leave her alone, okay? Don't make me tell Gramps," Natsu said. Laxus scowled. He walked away after that.

Natsu turned around, "You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine," Levy replied.

"Good. Now, we gotta get to if he bothers you again, tell me."

Levy looked at the ground, "Uh, yeah. I will."

* * *

Levy and I walked to the library together. It was the Tuesday after the Homecoming dance and the Pep Rally. I told her about the game already, but I wanted to keep the parts about the dance to myself until we were alone.

"So, you know how I told you I met the new girl, Juvia, at the homecoming game, right?" I asked. Levy nodded.

"Kind of. Sorry again that I couldn't go. But I feel even worse about not going to the dance with you. I totally forgot it would be your first homecoming."

"Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal. But I wanted to tell you about… something."

"Go ahead. Did you dance the night away with a knight in shining armor?"

I blushed, "No! I… I did dance with Natsu, though."

"You what?!" Levy yelled, "I knew you were more than just tutoring partners!"

"Shhh! We danced together during _one_ dance. And we are more than partners, we're also friends, but that's it! Anyway, I went to the game and I think you and Juvia could be good friends, too. What I was getting at was Juvia and I are going shopping sometime this weekend and we wanted to work it out around your schedule, if you wanted to go."

"How about Saturday afternoon?" Levy asked. I nodded and smiled.

"Perfect! I'll text her now," I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I flipped through my few contacts to find her name.

"So, Lucy. Tell me more about the dance?"

I was distracted texting Juvia back and she caught me in a moment of weakness, "It was actually really great." My head snapped up as I heard her squeal. I realized what I said and blushed- a lot. She started to giggle a little, but I stopped her in the middle of the hallway. I wasn't going anywhere just yet.

"Oh, god, Levy no! That's not what I meant. It wasn't even a dance really. We just started talking, and a slow song came on and Juvia shoved us together onto the floor, and then Juvia disappeared and we had nothing else to do. And I was blushing like crazy but he was fine and we just kind of talked the whole time about like school and stuff and he doesn't even know I got to the football games after his recommendation and Levy, oh my god, stop laughing!"

"So, what's the problem?" she asked through the giggles.

"There isn't one! That's the problem. Shouldn't there be something weird here or whatever?"

"No. You didn't _go_ to homecoming together. You just had one dance. It's not that big a deal."

"Okay. Good," we started walking again.

"So now that that embarrassing story was shared, we can go tutor in peace."

"Agreed," Levy said with a giggle. We pushed open the double doors to the library. We had to get there early, but our students should be arriving shortly. Levy and I sat at different tables almost across the room. She was getting her papers together while I went over to the textbook section of the library and picked out the Anatomy book. I opened up to the right chapter, and started going over it, so I knew what to point out. I didn't have much time. I saw a body plop down next to me and put his backpack on the table.

"So what's for today, Luce?" Natsu asked. I looked up and smiled.

"Cells."

"Uggh. Isn't that Bio?" he asked.

"Yes, but it's also Anatomy. So suck it up."

* * *

Across the room, Levy was going through her French notes, waiting for Gajeel. This wasn't a "half of her knew he would be there" moment. Levy knew with all of her being he wasn't going to show, but she did hold out hope. More and more hope fluttered away as the minutes ticked on. But, when she was about ready to help another student, a tall figure loomed over her. He hesitated to sit, but he did.

The first thing he said was: "Not a word 'bout anythin' but French."

"You got it," she said with a smile.

* * *

"This unit is about the head. Today we are learning about the eye and how it is connected to other organs. This lesson may leak to our next day of class, which is Monday. Page 101 in your textbook," Mr. Conbolt said.

"Yo, Macao- can I get a pencil?" Natsu called from the seat next to me. I quickly slapped him on the arm.

"You don't do that," I hissed. He just shrugged as a pencil flew at Natsu and hit the cabinet next to him.

"Natsu, just because you're my son's assistant coach, that doesn't mean that you can call me by my first name in school."

"Nice spiral, Mr. C," Natsu replied with a smile as he picked up the pencil.

Mr. Conbolt looked at me next, "You're his tutor- rein him in."

"Got it," I agreed. I glared at Natsu.

"You won't be able to stay angry for long," he whispered with a wink.

"Who takes Psychology?" Mr. Conbolt asked. A few people around the room raised their hands. I would have liked to take psych, but it was the same period of creative writing.

"What about Forensics?" he asked. Surprisingly, almost the same amount of hands were raised.

"Well, then you should know a little bit about the eye by now," he said, "The eye that you can see is made of the cornea, iris, and pupil. The layers, in order, are the cornea, aqueous humor-" Mr. Conbolt went on about the eye and brought up a powerpoint of the various parts of the eye and their functions. After the whole of this section, there was a picture of a dissected eye. Mr. Conbolt forgot to warn us.

I found myself staring at the slide and I couldn't look away. I felt my skin heat up and I was suddenly sweating. I heard Natsu ask if I was okay from far away. Finally, I looked away, and at him. He sat up quickly and put his arm around me. My cheeks burned further, but from blushing, which really didn't help. I started to feel dizzy. I coughed and felt something dislodge.

"Whoa, seriously, Lucy. You don't look good at all. What's wro-" he barely jumped back. I felt something come up and I threw up on him. He tried to get out of the way, but he moved a little too late. He didn't seem to mind and was more worried about me.

"Shit, Luce. You okay? Well, no you're not, but is it gonna go again?" I shook my head and he whispered, "This was a new jacket, too. And leather." I felt worse after that, but it sounded like he didn't really want me to hear it. Natsu stayed by my side, especially when Mr. Conbolt called me out, after he changed the slide.

Everyone was looking at me and Mr. Conbolt recovered from his shock enough to yell, "Lucy! Why would you sign up for an Anatomy class if you throw up at the sight of blood?"

I whispered to Natsu just before he jumped up, "She just gets sick around displaced eyes." I tried to pull him back down, get him to stop, or something. It wasn't that big a deal and if it was, I could handle it. Well, maybe not in this state, but I would let it roll off my back.

He seemed more than a little angry, though, and yelled for me, "There was no blood in that! And it's your responsibility to tell us if you're going to have something like that on the board! This is your fault!"

"Dragneel! Sit _down_. This isn't your issue."

"I'm the one with puke all over me!" he yelled back.

From the other side of the room, a girl with short white hair got up as well, "Will someone please just take her to the nurse? She needs some kind of medical attention!"

"I'll take her," Natsu said. He helped me up and didn't bother signing out or talking to the teacher. He simply grabbed a trash can and ushered me out into the hall. When we got out of earshot, Natsu put down the can and reached out to touch my cheek. He looked into my eyes and I looked back and blushed.

"What?" I asked.

"You're okay?"

"Yeah, I am. And thanks."

"For what? I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, you did."

"Nothing extraordinary.

I rolled my eyes, "Just accept the thanks."

"Alright."


	5. OfDeadthingsDoughnutsDatingAndDeltoids

Of Deadthings, Doughnuts, Dating, and Deltoids

"So, umm… I'm sorry about Friday. I didn't mean to… you know," I said when I first sat down on Monday. Natsu just smiled.

"It's not a big deal," he replied, "You didn't mean to."

"I know but you helped me out. So thanks. I-"

"'Course I'd help. You help me with Anatomy and all. Plus you're pretty-" Mr. Conbolt started talking at that exact moment and I didn't get to hear what Natsu was going to say. But, when I realized all he got out was that I was pretty I blushed _pretty_ hard. I looked to the front of the room and wrapped my cardigan tighter around me.

"Let's get started. Today is the big dissection day. This is the first of two you will be doing. These frogs are kind of expensive, so each set of two only gets one frog for each dissection. No do overs. Your grade will be based on how far you can get without damaging the frog beyond observable quality."

Minutes later, we were all sitting at our tables with aprons, gloves, and goggles on. My cardigan was on the counter next to one of the sinks.

"First, lay the frog flat on the tin, belly up. Then, tie down the arms and legs flat," Mr. Conbolt slowly went through the instructions to begin the dissection.

Just when we were supposed to make the first incision, Natsu sneezed. He raised his hand to his mouth and hit the tin, sending the frog flying and the tin hit the girl in front of us- I think her name was Jenny- on the back of the head.

"You two could not get any more disruptive," Mr. Conbolt hollered at us. He put down his tools and came over to our table. He crouched and looked down at the frog on the floor.

"The frog is intact. Since I can't give you a new frog and I don't _want_ to fail you, I'm telling you to do the dissection on the floor. Don't worry about the tin. I'll work with one of the janitors to clean the mess, I just ask you continue to pay attention," he replied as he stood back up.

"Got it, Macao," Natsu said. Mr. Conbolt just rolled his eyes, knowing he couldn't do anything about the name at this point. We crouched on the ground and I glared up at Natsu.

"What? It's not my fault!"

I whispered back, "I can't believe we're doing this on the floor."

"Is it really such a bad thing? It's kind of cool- except for having to do this and look between the partners in front of us."

"You mean I'm looking!"

"Okay, sure. You."

"So tutor time. Name the things I point to when I bring them to your attention. Okay?"

"Uggh. Luce, why?"

"Because you have to learn! And I have to help teach it to you."

"Well," he got very close to me, "Couldn't we maybe do that some other time. Like after school one day? We could go somewhere, have an after school snack, and learn uh-" he just stared at me so I would give him the name of the class, but I just raised an eyebrow and he continued, "Biology?"

"Anatomy!"

"Right. Well, Lucy, what do you think?"

I blushed, "Like a date?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. I mean it'll be on a date."

"Natsu, that's not what I meant-"

"Oh, right. No, not like that. I mean just food and learning about the digestive system. That way I'll be able to associate it or whatever you keep saying to do with pumic devices."

"Mnemonic Devices! Do you even listen? Or are you just hungry?"

"Little bit of both." I just rolled my eyes in return.

"Fine. We'll do it tomorrow after school. I'll tell Levy that's where I'll be instead of at tutoring."

"Sweet."

* * *

 _I can't make it to tutoring._

 _ **Why?**_

 _I'm tutoring Natsu at Dunkin Donuts._

 _ **Of all places.**_

 _ **Okay. Why though?**_

 _He doesn't like the library. It's 'too quiet' and he gets fidgety._

 _ **This sounds like a date.**_

 _It's not!_

 _It would be a date if it was Starbucks, but since the place is shit, it's not a date._

 _ **Whatever you say, Lucy. But remember. You two had a moment at Homecoming. You never know what could turn into a date.**_

 _You're reading another romance novel, aren't you?_

 _ **Of course not! I'm reading two.**_

I just snorted and locked my phone. I was in the car outside of Dunkin. I could see Natsu inside ordering. I bit my lip. _Was Levy right?_ I shook my head. If she was, who cares?

I opened my door, got out, and locked my car as I walked in the glass doors. I went up to the counter, before even looking around. I ordered one of the Coffee Coolattas, and as they were making it, I finally spotted the mop of pink. He was on his phone. I thanked the worker and walked over to Natsu's table.

"Hey," I muttered as I sat down.

He put his phone down and smiled, "Hey, Luce."

"So, why did you want to come here?"

"I like the coffee," his smile widened as he held up his cup. I saw it said "Dark Roast" on it.

"You like black coffee?" I asked.

"Yeah. But with ten packets of sugar."

"No wonder you're so lively," I smiled sarcastically. We were quiet for a moment.

"I've been meaning to ask you," I could feel the blush creeping onto my cheeks as I spoke, "What was your opinion of homecoming?"

"My opinion? Ya make it sound so formal. It was fun."

"Yeah, but what about our dance?"

"That was fun, too. Juvia's funny, how she shoved us out there together. She thinks she has to pair you up with someone so you don't dance with Gray."

"Oh." I didn't know how to feel. Sure, that makes sense with the way she talks about him- even if we're friends, Juvia gets kind of nuts about Gray. But his nonchalance at the dance was… disheartening. I mean, I wasn't expecting a profession of love, but I was hoping for at least a blush. It was like he took it as a joke. And, from what I've seen in the movies, slow dances aren't a joke.

"It was nice, though," he got very serious for a moment, and I felt something flutter, "I don't usually like slow dances, but that was nice. Everything's more fun with you, Luce." Suddenly, he was smiling again. I realized it wasn't a matter of crushes or dating or blushes or joking. He was just in everything to have innocent fun. Which was why he was letting me tutor him- to him, I made the dismal class more fun.

* * *

"Ten minutes leg lifter, ten minutes elliptical, ten minutes treadmill."

"Thirty minutes lifting bars."

"Twenty minutes treadmill, ten minutes leg lifter."

"I said, thirty pounds, not twenty."

"I don't care if you're too short, you're learning how to do pull ups."

"Planking and burpee reps, too this time."

As for Levy her experience was decidedly, dismally _not fun._ After the first tutoring session, the gym lessons got harder for Levy. Sure, he was trying to get her fit, and that came with making the lessons harder, but it was just too much too fast. He had her benchpressing, deadlifting, sprinting, biking on settings that were too high. She didn't know why, but she thought it had something to do with the tutoring. She had to make it clear to him, it was his choice. He didn't have to do the tutoring.

* * *

"You finished?" Levy asked excitedly. It would have been the first time Gajeel finished his homework without a single complaint.

"In a way," he replied, "I'm done doing it, doesn't mean the worksheet's finished."

"You're acting like a little kid," Levy replied, "Let me see what you have done." She reached over her books to grab his paper, but her shoulder didn't like that.

"Ow," she winced. She stopped moving her arm and put her other hand to it.

"What happened?" he asked.

"My shoulder's been killing me since gym. It's not the first time it hurt like this."

"Is it like a stabbing pain or-"

"It feels like lightning shooting through my shoulder."

"Go home, and ice it. We can do this some other time. I'll take the bad grade on tomorrow's test."

"No, I want you to pass. Plus, if I don't move too much then it won't be that bad."

He shook his head, "You might hurt it worse."

"I'll be fine!" Levy said. Her cheeks puffed out, like every other time she got angry or flustered. She grabbed the paper with her other hand and when she started looking at it, Gajeel grabbed it out of her hand and crumbled it up.

He dropped it on the ground as he said, "Rentrer à la maison, mettre un peu de glace dans un sac, l'envelopper dans une serviette, maintenez-le sur votre épaule pendant environ vingt minutes et le déplacer. Si elle fait toujours mal, appelez-moi et je vais vous dire ce qu'il faut faire. Si elle ne fait pas mal, vous êtes en or."

Her mouth dropped wide open, "What the hell?" she asked, "For how long now you've been telling me you can't speak French. Today you're showing you can!"

"I studied for the first time, and it wasn't too bad. I recognized a lot of words and it kind of clicked."

"You're a genius!"

"Shut up!" he hissed, "I am not. My mother spoke French to me when I was little. It stuck, okay? So now it's just a lot easier to learn it."

"I'm not the only one with a good memory, then."

"Then you should be able to remember what I said. Go home. Ice your arm. If it hurts, call me," he repeated- not in as many words, but it was the gist- as he slipped her his phone number.

"Thanks," Levy replied. He got all of his stuff together.

"I guess there's no need for tutoring anymore," Levy said before he left.

"You kidding? I'm almost failing every class. There's still a lot of work to do, Shrimp." With that, he left. Levy got her things together and went over to Lucy and Natsu's table.

"You mind giving me a ride home?" Levy asked Lucy, trying not to interrupt.

"Yeah, sure. Do you want to just come over for a little while? I need some study time and if no one is there to watch me I'll just watch television and eat."

"That works, as long as I can have some ice."

"Uhh… sure?" Lucy agreed. She went back to her session with Natsu and I sat on the couch in the back of the library, putting a certain phone number in my contact list.


	6. Status Report

Status Report

"So since there's a French Test today, we're not doing Gym."

"What?" Levy asked. It was the first thing Gajeel said when he walked into the room.

"Don't worry. I'll cover of any of the teachers ask. And you already hurt your shoulder, so we'll let that heal."

"Okay?" Levy replied skeptically. But he followed his word. They studied the French review sheet together all period.

The next day was even weirder. They took it slow to the point that Levy could _actually keep up_. After that, they talked a lot more- mostly because they got to the point that Levy could speak instead of "conserving her energy". Gajeel decided to start her on benchpressing. Instead of a weight bar, they used a workout bar, which they could choose from nine, twelve, or fifteen pounds. Levy was just getting the hang of it when she was switched to the real barbells. That was probably the hardest thing they did since before the big French test.

Gajeel started getting more creative with the easier exercises, and the two of them got closer. They used a weight ball one day. They stood back to back and turned enough to hand the ball off to one another. This was another day before a quiz. They studied the vocab that Levy memorized and Gajeel ended up getting an 83%.

The other day, they tried some of the new equipment that the football team bought with the extra money from their win to get into the playoffs.

"So this one, you grab the handles and pull your legs up. You can do it like standing crunches or just hold your legs up, like this," Gajeel said as he pulled his legs up. Levy was beaming. He was smiling consistently for the first time.

"Oi, what's the grin about?"

Levy put her hands on her hips, "You're excited about these."

"It's good equipment."

"Mhm. You look like I do when I get a new book. And, you can't stop smiling. I mean, you've been smiling more lately- even reacting to a joke or two- but that smile hasn't left your face since you walked in here and said, 'Check out these babies!'"

"I didn't say that."

"Yeah okay," Levy smiled knowingly.

"So we're just gonna skip over the fact that you get excited over new books?" he asked as he finally put his legs down.

"I thought it would be understood. It's more natural than exercise gear getting this reaction."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is," Levy began, "Books take you to a whole new place. They can change your beliefs," she stepped closer to Gajeel, making her point, "And if they're not important why are some banned? It's because they can do important things."

Gajeel laughed, for one of the first times around Levy, " _Gihihi_ , calm down, Shrimp. I never said all of 'em should be burned."

Levy blushed, "I- Uh, let's get some working out done. I don't want Coach Gildarts to come back in here and yell at you for not teaching again."

"Try this, then," Gajeel pointed a thumb at the equipment he was just on.

Levy scratched her head, "I don't think that'll work very well." She stood next to it, showing the place where she was supposed to put her arms came up to her head. Sure, there was a little step in front of it, but she still wasn't going to be tall enough.

"Wait here," Gajeel said. He walked out the door, then reappeared a few seconds later with a few sandbags she could stand on.

"Is that going to be safe?"

"It'll be fine." Gajeel put the stack of bags down on the block.

"Okay," Levy said nervously as she stood on top of the pile. She trusted him, so she figured she would try it. Her feet were very close together to fit on the small space. She hooked her arms into the bars and lifted her legs.

"I think my back cracked," Levy said, her voice sounding strained.

"If it hurts like that, you can stop," Gajeel replied. Levy nodded and put her feet down. One foot hit the sandbag, while the other one hit the edge. She suddenly pitched to the right and squeaked. Gajeel's arms reached out and he quickly got a hold of her, before she slammed her head on the metal arm of the equipment.

"You alright?" he asked.

She tried to stand on the floor, "Yeah I'm-" pain shot through her right ankle. She fell back into Gajeel.

"Uh. Thanks," Levy said as a blush crept over her face.

"You need to sit down," Gajeel said, and he helped her over to the weight bench, the closest place to sit.

"It's really not that bad. If I just sit for a little bit, I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Gajeel asked.

"Yeah. I don't need to go to the nurse."

"If it still hurts at the end of the period, you're going to the nurse if I have to carry you there," Gajeel threatened. Levy just groaned and accepted her fate. Thankfully, her ankle didn't hurt as bad when the period ended, and she didn't have to be carried to the nurse. Lord knows how that would have looked.

* * *

"I can't believe you did that," I said as Natsu caught up with me.

"I said I was sorry. What else do you want?"

"My full grade back!"

Levy popped up next to them, "What happened?"

Natsu popped his head out from the other side of me and waved, "Hey, Levy." She smiled and waved back, but I just turned on him.

"Don't say hi to her like we're not already fighting!"

"What _happened_?"Levy almost yelled. The people around us started to stare, but we just kept walking past.

"So, you know how we have to recite a poem in English?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I went today. And if I wasn't already nervous enough _he_ walks in," I pointed to Natsu, "He comes in and he-"

"Look, I said I was sorry," he interrupted to tell Levy.

Levy started to giggle, but I continued, still miffed, "He comes right in, thinking he's in his own class. He tries to sit down in his seat, and everyone sees this, while I'm dead nervous and reciting a forty line poem- Snow Day by Billy Collins. And I am trying not to get distracted by this pink-"

"Salmon," he interrupted, again.

"-haired idiot. And how he immediately picks a fight with the kid in the seat. He yells at him to get out of the seat, until I have to yell at him. And because I yelled at him after the poem ended, but before I said 'Thank you' to," I imitated the teacher, "'Signify the end of my piece,' I got points off because she counted every word I said as a false line on the poem."

"What did you say?" Levy asked.

"'Natsu this isn't your room! Stop fighting and get back to your math class!'"

"How bad was the grade?"

Natsu cut in, "Only a 62! It wasn't too bad."

"I'm an A student, Natsu! I got a D!" I yelled.

Levy replied, "Wow, a D? Even Gajeel got a B."

I turned on her and pointed, "You're not helping!" Levy and Natsu just laughed at me, but I did feel better after getting it all out. Even if I got mocked for the overreaction.

Natsu changed the subject, "Seriously? A B?"

"Yep. Eighty-three."

"Wow," he turned to me, "Luce, we've had a good run, but I'm going to have to switch tutors. Levy actually gets results."

"You've gotten a B on every test since I started tutoring you!"

"Yeah, but she got _Gajeel_ a B. That's a damn miracle." Levy just laughed. We got to my class, just then.

"This is my stop. Don't talk about me," I said as my usual farewell to the couple who, when they found each other once in a blue moon, always walked on to the next hall down without her.


	7. 12 Hours Before Game Time

12 Hours Until Game Time...

"Are you sure that shirt will be okay?" Levy asks, "It's kind of revealing." We were walking to gym class, after homeroom. I was wearing a new shirt I had bought last night. I wore a tank top with the sides cut upwards, so you could see a little of my hips. But the rest was a bluish green and floral with the collar a bit see through to a point.

"I checked the handbook," I replied, "It doesn't say anything is wrong with this. I'm not showing any underwear, the straps are thick enough, and the see through part isn't deep enough to be outside of the dress code."

"Are you sure?"

"At this point, I don't really have any other option," I said, just as we ran into a teacher I had never met before.

"Is that so? Well, I guess I'll have to bring you to the office and get you settled for your first detention session after school today," he said.

"Wait- why?" I asked, "There's nothing wrong with the shirt!"

"Not strictly, no. But it is rather distracting," he said.

I tried to get something out, but only stammered as he grabbed my arm and led me away from Levy. We walked halfway down the front hall when Natsu was coming towards us. My cheeks burned and I looked down. But he seemed to have other plans. He came up to the teacher and I.

"Hey! Luce!" he said, "Thanks for finding her for me Mr. Smythe."

"Mr. Dragneel, I am taking her to the office I-"

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"She has an obvious disregard for the dress code."

"No she doesn't. She just forgot to meet me at the front of the school," he quickly took his football jersey off and pulled his shirt down underneath. _Thank Heaven and all who inhabit it_ , I thought, _This boy can't tell Biology from Chemistry, but he thinks quick on his feet._

"Mr. Dragneel, why would you two meeting outside of class have anything to do with this?"

"Because. She wore that so she would stay cool under the jersey. Remember the tradition? Varsity players always give their jerseys to their girlfriends for the day before Homecoming and the day of Championships. Lucy just forgot to get it from me. Right, Luce?"

"Yeah, of course!" I said as I slipped my arm away from the teacher and stood over next to Natsu. He put his arm around me, as seamlessly as possible. He threw the jersey over his shoulder and I gently put my arm around his waist.

"I… guess we're done here?" the teacher said, in a way that suggested he didn't think it was really over, but he walked away. We watched him go, then looked at each other. Natsu brought his arm out from around me and I let my arm drop.

He held the jersey up, "Yeah, that looks like it'll fit."

"As if it wouldn't!" I yelled. Did he really think I was that big? He had to put that thing on over shoulder pads!

"You should probably wear it all day. I'll meet you after school at your car," he said. He held out his hands to hold my stuff. I gave it to him and took the jersey. I threw it on over my tank top and fixed it over my clothes.

"Okay, well, I think we're going the same way," Natsu said. We started walking towards the gym.

"Thanks for this," I said.

"Any time, Luce."

"I mean, we weren't actually supposed to meet, right? That whole discussion- and the girlfriend thing, it was all fake, right?" I asked and a blush crept across my face. I was leaning towards wanting him to say yes, we were supposed to meet, but I knew he wouldn't.

"No, just saving you. If you got detention today, you wouldn't be able to make it to the game. Speaking of, are you going?"

"Yeah. I figured I might go see at least one you know?" my blush only deepened. I still don't quite want him to know that he's the reason I've been to every game since I got to Fairy Tail.

"Cool. I mean, every one of them is different. We're still thinking up ways to change the plays up. Anyway, seeing you at at least one would be nice," he smiled, "This is my stop, I'll see you in Anatomy." He waved and walked into his classroom.

 _I can't wait until Levy sees this jersey._

* * *

The bell rang and the class migrated to their seats, while Monsieur Jonah got out from behind his desk in the back of the room. He got up in front of the room and held up a stack of papers. They were facing multiple directions, meaning they were getting a wave of assignments back.

"Tests are graded and in the system, as are essays, quizzes, extra credit, projects, and sports recommendations," Monsieur Jonah announced to the class. Levy was sitting in the previously empty seat next to Gajeel. She was asking him about their math tutoring and the bell rang before she could get up. So, she made some excuse to stay there.

Thankfully, too, because she leaned over and asked Gajeel, "What does he mean by 'sports recommendations' and why did he look right at you when he said it?"

"Uh, technically I can't play in Championships right now. My grade is too low." Levy blanched. Since when was this a possibility? She tried not to panic.

"I'm guessing you mean GPA. So if you raise your GPA by the end of the day, you can play?"

"Mmm," he half-grunted.

"Is that going to happen?"

"I'm failing every class, so probably not."

"No wonder you've been so grumpy today," Levy said. The girl in front of them, Levy thought it was the girl Lucy talked about a few times. Aquarius, maybe?

She turned around and said, "Isn't he always in a foul mood?"

Gajeel pounced on his desk, "Watch it, fish breath."

"Oh, shove it," she replied as she turned around.

"Everything okay back here?" Monsieur asked as he handed Levy her essay back.

"Everything's fine," she said, with a smile. Monsieur walked away and kept handing out sheets. Levy looked at her paper. She got a 20/20 points. It was a lot of extra credit, but a lot of work. Then she remembered she gave one in for Laxus, too. She felt sick when she hoped he got a 20/20 as well.

Gajeel got back their partner project back and it was a 96/100. They forgot to mark parts of their map, but with the extra credit for being the best project, it became a 101%. Levy was happy for him and for her grade, but couldn't help the feeling in her stomach that she was going to get an unpleasant meeting from Evergreen when she found out Laxus didn't get the credit. Next, Gajeel got something of his own back. It was a slip for an extra credit point per tutoring session.

"Madame Blinn, the NHS supervisor, told me you got some extra help. I said in the beginning of the year, if you put in effort you would be rewarded. I may grade for accuracy, but give to those who put in more effort. I added it to a quiz," Monsieur Jonah said as he dropped the sheet.

"Thank you," Gajeel said. He looked at his paper and it gave him 13 points extra credit.

"Unlucky thirteen," Levy noted.

Gajeel snorted, "I was born on Friday the Thirteenth." He grinned and Levy laughed. They say for those who were born on the thirteenth, the unluckiness of the number is reverse. The 13 makes them even luckier.

Levy got her test back, next, "A perfect score." She smiled, and Monsieur handed Gajeel's test and an old quiz back.

"What did you get?" she asked.

"A nine," he replied after looking at both sheets.

"What?" Levy screeched. She grabbed his papers out of his hands and read it over for herself. At the top was a giant A+ circled. He got a 98. All he forgot was to write his name.

"You liar!" she said as he laughed.

"Check the quiz," he replied.

"Oh," it was a 9/20.

"Yeah."

"You think it's enough?" she asked.

"Well, frankly no. I started with a 52, remember?"

"What's your GPA?"

"Less than a 1.0."

"What do you need to get to play?"

"More than a 1.0"

"Do you know your exact grades?"

"Nah."

" login?" she said as she started panicking for him again. was what everyone called the online report card. Teachers put in their grades and you could log on and see them.

"Maybe?"

"It's your name and student ID." Levy pulled out her phone when Monsieur sat down at the podium in the front of the class.

"Okay, so I put your name in. What's your ID number?"

"Would I find that somewhere?"

Levy gave him a face, "Student ID card?"

"Uhh," he took out his wallet. He put his driver's license on the desk, then found his ID card underneath.

"This is from last year, when I moved here. Is that alright?"

"The number doesn't change," she said. She picked up the card with his information on it. The number was 2054316. She plugged everything in and logged in. Then, she got to work averaging the averages. Right now, he was at a 53.2. She did the math on the back of one of her tests. His new grade in French was a 89, making his new GPA

"Sixty point four," Levy relayed in defeat.

"So what is that?"

"A 1.0 exactly. You need just over a 1.0."

"Shit."

Monsieur Jonah leaned over her and said, "Your math is flawed. This is an AP class." She could hear the smile in his voice and it spurred Levy on.

"Oh my god!" Levy leaned back over her paper. Monsieur Jonah smiled and walked away.

"What does that mean?" Gajeel asked.

"It means you get 10 points added to your class average when it gets put into the GPA scale. That makes it…," she finished the equation, "A sixty-two point four!"

"Does that mean-" she cut him off, she was so excited.

"You can play tonight!"

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't do what I said! I told you Laxus was supposed to get that grade!" Evergreen yelled. She came in swinging. She immediately slapped Levy in the face. Levy just looked at her. She had no idea Evergreen would do something like this.

"What do you think you're looking at?" she asked. Evergreen took a break from her usual array of green dresses today. Instead, she was sporting the Fairy Tail High cheerleader uniform- orange and white. She was always grumpier with the uniform on.

"I said what do you think you're staring at, bitch?" she continued.

"I- uh..." Levy sputtered, trying to respond. She couldn't manage to speak to her anymore.

"God, I am so sick of your idiotic stuttering. What do you have a speech impediment or something?"

"N-no I just-"

Evergreen cut Levy off and tried to imitate her, "'N-no, I just-' you just what? Can't do anything right is more like it." There was a snort from one of the three guys behind Ever. But that just spurred her on.

"Why do you even try? I've seen you hanging around some friends recently. Since Jet and Droy switched schools, you've finally acted like the worm you are. But now that new girl came." she referred to Lucy with a tongue of poison, "What, do you think she might rub off on your flat chest and pathetic personality or something?"

"Stop it," Levy tried, she really did, but she couldn't get much out when she was trying not to cry. She had her head down looking at her books. She couldn't see what Evergreen did next. She looked back at the men behind her, smiling mischievously. Laxus nodded and Evergreen sprung into action. She turned back to Levy and shoved the books out of her hands. The shock not only sent Levy's books crashing to the floor and her papers everywhere, but it almost sent Levy tipping over, as well. She righted herself and let her purse slide out of the crook of her arm- where it had landed after the jolt.

"Not only that, but your French partner seems to have taken a liking to you. _Seems_. Like anyone would take a liking to such insignificance. Then again, maybe it's just because you got him a good grade. Which you were _supposed_ to have him fail. He's just using you, hon. It may sound brutal, but it's true. I'm only helping you, Levy. He's an asshole, really. I mean, he's dirty and just look at him. His piercings are gross, let alone all those scars from Lord knows what. I don't want you to get your hopes up with some guy who got kicked out of his last school because he-"

The slap rang through the hallway. It was as if she meant to say "don't involve him in this", but Levy would never say that. In fact, Levy just stared at Evergreen. It was the first time she saw her as something other than beautiful. Levy always knew she was rotten on the inside, but it wasn't until now that the witch looked rotten on the outside. Her head had been thrown to one side and her hair was out of place and stuck to her lip gloss when she looked back at Levy- a renewed hatred in her eyes. Levy looked at her hand as if thinking it betrayed her. Then she saw Laxus being restrained by his two other friends- Freed and Bickslow. He was getting free and Levy couldn't help but take a step back. Everything was happening so fast. He ran towards her, but she closed her eyes and heard a shoe squeak from behind her, forcing her to open them back up. The next thing she knew, Laxus was sprawled out on the ground and Gajeel was on top of him.

"You fucking shit!" was all he yelled as Gajeel slammed his fist into Laxus's nose. Evergreen was smiling down on them, like some kind of proud mother. Then she turned for Levy.

"Look at your little lapdog fighting Laxus! It's like a Yorkie fighting a Rottweiler!" she looked back at Bickslow and Freed who were cheering Laxus on. He was now on top of the ever changing wrestling match. The two on the floor were yelling things Levy wasn't quite catching.

Ever caught their attention, pointed at Levy, and said, "How about this one? Think she's a Pug or a heifer?" Evergreen smiled and turned around. She didn't even get a chance to look for the small fist, but it knocked her straight to the cheek. Evergreen went down. Her glasses skittered away and Bickslow knelt down next to her to help her up as Freed continued to watch the boys fight.

Before Levy turned away, she simply stated, "Pugs are adorable," and focused her attention on Gajeel.


	8. 5 Hours Until Game Time

5 Hours Until Game Time...

He turned the corner out of the hallway and into the bathroom. He nodded at a guy at the sink and did his business, but heard some people in the hall when he was done. Gajeel went to the door and just stood there, listening.

"Do you have a speech impediment or something?" he heard. It was some girl- Spruce or Pine or Conifer. Something with trees. Maybe it was Conifer- Connie for short…?

"You just what? Can't do anything right is more like it!" Gajeel realized that the other party must have said something, but he had either tuned out, or the other person was speaking too quietly for even him to hear. He listened harder, but the tree girl just kept talking.

"Why do you even try? I've seen you hanging around some friends recently. Since Jet and Droy switched schools, you've finally acted like the worm you are. But now that new girl came," Gajeel tried to think about who she might be talking about- or too, "What, do you think she might rub off on your flat chest and pathetic personality or something?" At that point, Gajeel got mad. He gathered himself and burst out of the bathroom. He stopped when he heard the reply.

It was a small plea, "Stop it." But he knew that voice. _Shrimp?_

He hesitated and kept listening, "Not only that, but your French partner seems to have taken a liking to you." Gajeel's eyes narrowed. Who did Connie think she was? He knew she was talking about him at this point. She went on to talk a lot of shit on him. She seemed to know a lot about him, but he knew nothing about her. And Gajeel didn't like that. He heard the sound of skin on skin contact and got ready to move.

Gajeel's head whipped towards the interaction, around the corner and he took off running. He stopped for less than a second before redirecting and taking off again. Turns out, it wasn't just the two girls. It was three guys, too. Now he remembered the cheerleader's name. Evergreen- for all he cared Connie was close enough. But Laxus was the one he redirected towards. Laxus had launched himself towards Levy and the much smaller girl would have no chance. She seemed to know it and tried to make herself as small and easy to miss as possible. She resigned herself to the fact that she was going to get hit.

Gajeel didn't, though. That huge asshole wouldn't touch her. If he did- it was the last thing he would do. Gajeel tackled Laxus and started beating the shit out of him. He may have said something like "You fucking shit!", or it could have been Laxus. It was all a blur from that moment on. He and the quarterback were in a constant struggle of one on the ground, one on top, beating the shit out of the other one. Gajeel had just sat back on Laxus's stomach when he felt some small hands touch his arm. They were warm and made him stop. He didn't move his arm from the spot when she touched him.

"Please don't," she said in the smallest voice he heard, but somehow, it wasn't angry. It was just worried. He looked at her and saw her expression matched her tone. So, he stopped fully and got off Laxus. He groaned and just laid there.

"Let's go," Gajeel said and he lightly pulled Levy away. Suddenly, Laxus came up behind him and threw him to the ground.

"Gajeel!" Levy yelled, but was forced to stay back. Suddenly, a teacher turned the corner as Gajeel got up and punched Laxus in the gut.

"Break it up!" he yelled. An arm clasped Gajeel's shoulder and he looked at Levy, whose eyes were wide. He knew it was all over then.

* * *

Levy sat in the hall in front of the principal's door. The chair she was in must have used to be an bright orange color, but the only remnants of such a color were in the folds of the seams. Years of wear and tear and dirt and sun and gum have worn it all down. It might even have been comfortable at one point, based on the now hardened sponge in the shape of a back and butt. Perhaps this chair was used most by one certain delinquent. Levy's feet just barely reached the ground, if she was sitting all the way back, so she chose to sit back and let her feet hang while her hands were on the chair arms. That's what _she_ chose, anyway. Her body wouldn't let her. She kept sitting up, biting her nails. She was a nervous wreck. Earlier that same day, Gajeel got the recommendation he needed so he could play tonight. Now that was all going to, in his words, shit.

If she had just done what Evergreen asked. She could have avoided all this, but, then again, Gajeel wouldn't have gotten the chance to play if she had kept to herself. It was an endless cycle. She kept thinking "I could have" to come up with "then he would have". She knew Evergreen had gotten off scot free. Laxus and Gajeel were in there now. For fighting. That would get Gajeel kicked off the team, let alone being allowed to play.

She couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and she started pacing. She wasn't in trouble, she didn't have to be there. The secretaries and teachers around her made that abundantly clear, but she couldn't leave. Why she couldn't leave, she didn't know. She knew she wanted to stand by Gajeel, but that didn't seem like enough to make her rooted to the spot. She was tempted to call Lucy and pour her heart out on the phone, but she settled for a text instead.

For a while she paced, then she read a flyer on the wall. It was about the Black Box, the writing contest where you submit your paper into a black shoe box the club would take and go over to declare a winner. She looked over and she was about to sit back down when she saw a motivational poster that said, "Stand Up" as in for what is right. It was a cheesy picture of a man at the top of a mountain, looking down at the valley below while the sun sat out of frame.

"Screw it," she said as she stomped across the ugly green carpet. She put her hand on the knob and turned the handle, pushing herself forward. There was arguing going on, but it stopped as soon as the door creaked. It must have been a funny sight, seeing the small girl walk through the door with two big, brawny guys in the foreground. But the principal didn't frown or laugh maliciously. He smiled and gestured for Levy to come in.

"Uh, hi," she squeaked out. Sure, she had seen the principal before, but never behind his desk. She'd talked to him once, concerning the status of the arts departments. She heard they were shutting down the theatre program and she wanted to fact check before helping those who were organizing the protests.

"Did someone call their lawyer? Come in, Levy. Shut the door, please," Principal Dreyar said. She did as she was told and the men moved out of her way as she made her way towards the desk. Laxus stood up against the wall with his arms crossed. Gajeel sat in a seat against the wall.

"Well, I wanted to come in to tell what happened," Levy said.

"And what would that be, Levy?" the principal asked, "I've already got two sides, but from what I hear, you're the epicenter. So this should be the full story."

"Yes, sir," Levy said and she began, "A few weeks ago, Evergreen made me do some of Laxus's work for his French grade to improve, but I did some under threat of, well, a beating. I was supposed to partner with Laxus on a project, but, instead, I was paired with Gajeel, through no fault of my own. I did my work for our group, and Evergreen wanted me to throw our project so Laxus could get the points. Laxus already threatened me on Evergreen's behalf before this. And Gajeel didn't do anything. He was someone who got caught in the crossfire and has been working hard to get his GPA up so he could play at the game today. If you take that away from him it will not be fair, especially because he only fought today because I would have been hurt otherwise. Well, technically, I was hurt anyway, but that is more Evergreen's doing. Gajeel did nothing wrong. I just want to make that clear because I know you're not one for nepotism, but it's only logical to look after one's family before outsiders. And I don't want that to happen here." Levy took in a deep breath as she plopped down into the chair in front of Principal Dreyar's desk.

"Laxus, can you wait in one of the orange chairs outside?" Principal Dreyar replied. Without a word, his grandson walked out the door and nearly slammed it behind him.

"First, I don't show favoritism to any of my children. Second, I want to make it clear that Laxus will be getting the punishment he deserves. He is not playing tonight, however, I am not sure what I can do about the exact punishment or Evergreen's. I can promise Gajeel is not in any trouble. In fact, I wanted to congratulate him on his ability to play for the team tonight. He still has that opportunity, if he wants to take it."

"Ah ha!" Levy exclaimed. She got up and smiled.

"Thank you!" Levy yelled.

"It's not a problem," Principal Dreyar responded, "Just, from now on, don't call me sir. And Gajeel, shouldn't you be getting to practice?"

"You got it, Gramps," Gajeel agreed. They walked out the door and Levy was elated. Even the guilt of "Gramps" yelling "Laxus!" and the man being beckoned walking in with an eyeroll could not get her down. She could never tell why, but Levy was almost jumping for joy.

She saw a girl out of the corner of her eye wave to Gajeel and him wave back. She looked over and it was Juvia, the girl Lucy and her hung out with a few times. She was nice and had moved around the same time as Gajeel. The girls waved as well, but then Levy brought her attention back to Gajeel.

"You can play!" She was nearly shouting. One of the secretaries gave her a disapproving look.

"Yeah. It's kind of your fault-"

"Fault?" Levy asked.

"Your doing?" Gajeel amended, "Are uh," he rubbed the back of his neck, "Are you going to the game tonight?"

"Maybe. I mean, I haven't gone to any yet, but I was thinking about it."

"Well, if you go, my cousin's having a party. Nastu- you know him? It's an all nighters for certain people, so you can go if you want and it'll be going for until you want to leave. Or if you end up coming late or… Whatever."

Levy blinked, "I think that was the most words you've said to me at once."

"Shut up, Shrimp. Go or don't. I don't care." Levy smiled, having cracked his code for a few weeks now. This likely meant he was inviting her to the party and he kind of wanted her to go.

"I'll see what I can do. I'll text you," Levy said as she walked away.

She remembered something and turned back, "Oh, and one other thing," she wound her hand into a fist and punched him, "That's for not jumping in sooner, today." She turned and left this time. She couldn't see it, because she was rushing for the late bus, but Gajeel kept trying to hold in a grin all the way to practice.


	9. Championships At Sabertooth

Championships At Sabertooth

"Why do you want to go today?" I asked.

"I figured that you might want company at Championships. It doesn't hurt to go once," Levy replied.

"You're the kind of people I hate," I took my eyes off the road for a second to glare at her. She sat in my passenger seat with an orange and white 00 jersey on- that she bought after school _today_ \- and her hair in two buns on the top of her head. She wore long sleeved Under Armour and jeans and had blankets in her lap. She stuck her tongue out at me and laughed. I couldn't help but join in as I looked back at the road. I wore a similar outfit to her, but where her Under Armour was black, mine was light blue and I didn't have a jersey on- only a sweatshirt. We both wore fur lined boots, that were currently making it hard to determine how hard I was pressing the gas pedal.

"Why do you go to all of these, Lu?" Levy asked, "Especially alone?"

"It's fun. Everyone gets really hyped up. It's like everyone wins together and everyone loses together. And as for alone? I don't mind because the people around me always are nice and will talk to me. That's where I met Juvia, actually. She went to the homecoming game and we sat next to each other."

"I'm calling bull."

"No, I did. I swear. She was sitting next to me, and she offered to share her blanket and-"

Levy giggled, "No, that's not what I meant. I'm willing to bet you're just there because of the players. I mean- Natsu is the starting quarterback since Laxus got benched. And you guys have been talking for a while. I mean you danced at Homecoming."

"He's also an idiot."

"You've been tutoring him."

"So, I should know. Not to mention the beaker incident."

"That was months ago! You said he was pretty sure it wouldn't explode!"

"Seventy-five percent is not enough! Plus, he was wrong and Porlyusica had to pull glass out of my side, with me in only a bra and pants. My shirt was ruined _and_ she lectured me on the deficits of push-up bras until I told her it wasn't one!"

"Oh… I missed that part of the conversation."

"Yeah, well… What about you? That French _and_ Gym partner of yours is the starting Center."

"Yeah, and Gray Fullbuster is the Middle Linebacker. What's your point?"

"Nothing, I just thought maybe you came to see him."

"Of course not! Well, kind of. He… he helped me with Evergreen today and… I don't know. I guess I thought I'd say 'Hi' after or something. But he's not the reason I'm here," she puffed her cheeks out and blushed.

"Levy, I know you're lying."

"I know you're lying, Lu! Let's just… leave each other be?"

"Fine." We were quiet the rest of the way to Championships. When we pulled into the parking lot at the away field, the sky was dark already, but the stadium lit up like a beacon. I thought the lot would be dark, but there were few streetlights for safety and a multitude of car lights.

"We're gonna have to park far away," I said to Levy. She nodded and looked ready to fight her way to a seat.

"I can't believe this is what happens at games. We're here like a half an hour early."

"The team gets here an hour early. So that's when the people get here. Especially for Championships, Lev."

"I miss my room already." I started laughing. She sounded so small. I knew she was much more introverted than myself, but she was trying. Crowds aren't her thing, and neither is school spirit- _because_ of the crowds. When she told be about her _two_ confrontations today, I was floored.

"How do so many people want to be here?" she asked.

I unbuckled and started to get out of the car while she sat there under her bundle of blankets, "I'm sure there's a lot of people here like you. Being here for the Championships," I jumped out of the car and as my feet touched the ground I said, "And wanting to check out the Center's tight end." I slammed the door behind me before she could yell at me. Through the window I saw her eyes widen and a deep blush unfold on her cheeks. She tried to yell at me through the window and quickly got out of the car when she realized her voice was garbled to me. I got around to the trunk to pick up my bag and she stomped to meet me. I tried to keep from laughing.

"I let up on you! Can't you do the same for me?" I continued to giggle, "What now?"

"You're still blushing, but your face is also angry red- but the storming around and stuff clashes with the puffed cheeks and buns!" She puffed her cheeks out again, then realized what she was doing. She sucked her cheeks in and I laughed, but she let it go. I closed the trunk and we started walking towards the stadium. We paid our entrance as we got to the gate. Surprisingly, there was no line to get in. Unsurprisingly, it was almost impossible to find a seat.

"Good thing we brought our own snacks. There's no way we're getting up once we find a seat," Levy said. I ended up having to walk in front because she tried to, but she would either get knocked aside by older men or weasel her way through them and we kept getting separated. We finally found a seat all the way at the top, but on our way there we were stopped by the head cheerleader, Mirajane Strauss.

"Levy!" she yelled over the fence.

"Mira! Hi!" Levy ran down the stairs that led to the area between the seating and the fence. She flung her arm out and tried to hug Mirajane over the fence.

"Long time no see! How are you?" Levy asked. I walked up behind them.

Levy saw me and added, "Mira, this is Lucy, Lucy this is Mira."

"Hi!" we said and shook hands.

"Look, girls, I hate to do this, especially since me and you," she looked at Levy, "Haven't talked in awhile. But, my girls are really cold. We wore the right clothes- leggings and Under Armour, but it's insanely cold and these," she tugged at her leggings, "Aren't much. We weren't supposed to come out tonight because of the weather, but we took a vote to do it anyway because its Championships. Anyway, do you mind sharing those blankets? You can have a front seat view and free hot chocolate on behalf of the cheerleaders."

"Sure. No problem. We have more in the car, but we didn't think we'd need them. We might have some towels to sit on," Levy agreed.

"Did you guys have any to begin with?" I asked.

"We have our rain parkas the school provides, but they aren't good for blankets. Our coach went to see if the Spiritwear booth would offer any blankets or scarves."

"Okay. Well, here. You take these for now, and we'll get the other blankets," I said and Levy and I handed them over the fence. Surprisingly, Levy was okay supplying them to the organization that bullied her for the last year. Well, Evergreen did, anyway. We walked back to the car, getting a hand stamp from the gate patrol and tried to get back before the announcements started so we could get settled before the game began.

On the way, Levy asked, "What do you think we have?"

"At least three more blankets," I answered, which turned out to be right. Three blankets and four towels. There were also a few scarves and some extra coats I took out. Thank god I never clean my car out. By the time we got back, the coach was back and she was telling Mira she couldn't get enough scarves to make it seem uniform, so she turned the offer down.

"Mira, open the gate?" Levy asked. Mira held a finger up to the coach, saying "hold on" and opened the gate for us.

"Who are these girls?" Coach McCormick asked.

"They're my friends. I offered to buy them drinks and let them sit up here with us if they let us borrow their blankets," Mira said.

"Perfect!" Coach clapped and smiled, "Now we just have to figure out how to do this."

"We could have the girls go out in shifts!" Mira suggested, "Have a few do some cheers at a time and have the rest stay under the blankets."

"That works," Coach Kinana agrees. She calls over the rest of the girls around to tell them the plan. Mira helps us put down the towels down in a line down the fence. But, soon after the towels go down, the football teams leave the field and end their practice.

"That's our cue to line up at the gate," Mira said, "But I'll see you guys later." She waved as she jogged to catch up to the other cheerleaders. We throw some blankets down here and there on the towels and get settled ourselves.

"So you never told me that you and Mira were friends," I say.

"' _Were'_ is your key word. We used to be friends when she was still in her goth phase," Levy said.

"Mira had a goth phase?" I asked, incredulous. The girl that was sweet as honey, dating a quarterback Laxus Dreyar? The head cheerleader who was currently walking to the gate holding the white and orange pom poms and white and orange cheerleader shirt, skirt with leggings, Under Armour, and jacket?

"Oh yeah. For a long time. It started in about third grade. Lasted until eighth. We lost touch freshman year because we didn't share any classes. We talk in classes we share now, but I don't have any with her this semester," Levy explained. I didn't get a chance to ask any more questions before the announcer started calling names for our team.

"Senior Quarterback. Number 1. Natsu Dragneel," the announcer said. I found myself yelling for him, even though Levy winked at me. He ran out holding his arm up and holding a 1 on his fingers. The cheerleaders get in a line and the players run through it until they reach the benches.

"Senior Linebacker. Number 43. Erza Scarlet," the crowd roared louder than even the quarterback for our first varsity girl who got farther than a kicker. She pulled her weight and about ten other people's. And I was glad to call her one of my best friends.

"Senior Middle Linebacker. Number 45. Gray Fullbuster," both of us cheered, again. We heard Juvia scream somewhere from the crowd, and laughed.

"Senior Center. Number 50. Gajeel Redfox," the announcer called. Levy yelled his name and clapped. I gave her the same kind of look she gave me and she just blushed.

"Senior Kicker. Number 11. Jellal Fernandez," the announcer kept going and announced all the seniors before announcing the juniors. At the very end came the announcement, "Due to extenuating circumstances, Laxus Dreyar will not be playing tonight." There was a moment of confusion from the crowd and Evergreen yelled some expletives, but it was over quickly. The other team came out and they had the announcer announce their team. The home marching band played the National Anthem after the whole team came out and the cheerleaders were back. The game started a few minutes later, after Natsu and Gray went to meet the Captains from the other team to call the coin.

Kickoff was dead silent, but the band played a symbol crash as number 32 caught the ball and ran with it. The cheerleaders cheered. They had half the team stay out for ten minutes- Atlantic Standard, not football time- then, they would switch. The Hey Song came on and Levy and I joked around. The colour guard danced in the stands to the songs the band played. We played Super Freak next, then Centerfold. For some of the songs, the cheerleaders had specific dances, but between songs, they did their own cheers, which the band made damn sure to be the loudest.

We scored and the band immediately started playing the school's fight song. The crowd went nuts- I heard more than a few vuvuzelas and cowbells. The color guard clapped and I spotted some of the alma mater doing the same thing. Then, the game went back and the band did too. I explained some of the game to Levy. At this point, I recognized all the songs. Louie, Louie came on next and the color guard did their odd skipping and dancing to the song. I asked them once what they were doing and their captain told me this was their parade music along with America the Beautiful, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and We Didn't Start the Fire, so they did the flag moves, but without the flag. Usually these parade songs came on one after each other, except America the Beautiful.

The songs sometimes repeated, like when we scored two touchdowns in the first quarter. The fight song went off again and then the buzzer rings for the second quarter. The color guard left and the band continued to play without them. The second quarter began well and the backup quarterback went in and Natsu came out. A few minutes in, the backup got sacked hard by an overzealous player. He got knocked over and stays down. Gajeel slammed his helmet against the frozen ground in frustration. I heard Levy say his name under her breath, but looking between the two players. I just put my arm around her and she holds my hand. We watched in silence as Coach Gildarts got the backup off the field. There's clapping from all around, but I'm nervous about Natsu not getting a break. When Ms. Porlyusica checked him out, she smacked him on the back of the head, so I figured he was okay.

A while later, the game hit the halfway mark and both marching bands take the field. Our band went first and showed us their finished show. One of the mothers announced the band's name, the drum major, and the color guard captain, as well as the directors' names. Their show was themed with "Timeless". Their show was very nice, but I wish I got to see the ones in the previous years so I could compare. Honestly, after their show was over I didn't see the other team's band. Sabertooth's band was a bigger than ours and their theme was "Dante's Inferno". I saw glimpses of it, and it was pretty cool, but I was mostly focused on my food.

We cracked open our snacks a little into the game and Mira got us the hot chocolate during the first part of the halftime show. It hit the spot on such a cold night. I forgot to check the temperature for where we were and didn't realize the mountains would be so cold.

"So, how do you like it?" I asked Levy.

"Its really chocolatey. I didn't think it'd be this rich," Levy said, taking another sip of the drink.

"Not the drink!" I said, "The game? Do you love it? There's so much energy!"

"I know. It's a bit overwhelming at times. But I do enjoy it. I kind of wish I had come to more, now."

"Well, there's always next year," I say, "Even if we are going to college, we can always visit." Levy smiled and nodded. Soon, the game got back on track. The scoreboard went back to the way it was and showed the score: 33 to 24. We were in the lead by nine points. They could take it back with one touchdown and a field goal. But I didn't think that would happen.

By the fourth quarter, I knew I was wrong. The Sabertooth team had gotten two touchdowns with the extra point each and another field goal, where we only got a field goal. We're one point ahead and the next play Sabertooth threw was a Hail Mary. Somehow, they made it, but we had a whole quarter to make up the points.

Only a few minutes left on the clock and Fairy Tail couldn't make a single play happen, _but_ neither could Sabertooth. Finally, they put Erza on Running Back. Her number called for it and she probably had no problem with it after talking to the coach. She took a drink, spit it out, and put her helmet right back on. She took the position after talking to Natsu for a second and I sat up.

"They're going to try something new," I whispered to Levy.

"No way. It's Championships, they can't," she says. I think back to a conversation I had with Natsu earlier in the day. He said that they were learning new plays every day, even until now.

"I dunno, Lev. I just hope it works," I said.


	10. Hail Mary?

A/N: Sorry these last two chapters were so late, but it didn't really seem like anyone missed them. Anyway, maybe its good these two ended up together, since I wrote them together and had to separate them due to length. Also: Just so anyone following my work knows, I'm going into hiatus for a lot of reasons. One being that life is starting to catch up to me and another is I'm trying to finish a book for my boyfriend. Enjoy!

* * *

Hail Mary?

It felt like the entire stadium was holding its breathe as Natsu handed off the ball to Erza and she ran for it. The team hit and drove Saber back with a new force I had never seen before. Even Natsu didn't move- didn't even care to pretend he still had the ball as the line drove back all the defense away from Erza. But, she got someone on her tail and one guy coming at her. She curled the ball into her chest and leaned down, plowing past the guy coming at her and she outran the man behind her. She scored the game winning touchdown. Sure, there was time left, but not enough to get a touchdown for Sabertooth. The crowd erupted into screeches and screams that would probably be heard for miles. Levy and I jumped up and threw off the blanket, hugging each other. The vuvuzelas went crazy, the cowbells erupted and the entire crowd banged their feet and fists and anything they could find together. Two of the color guard chest bumped while others hugged. The drum majors hugged and jumped up and down. The drummers clashed their sticks together and did a drumroll into the loudest rendition of the fight song I had ever heard. The team ran down the field and stopped at a certain point while Erza ran back at them and jumped into the air, expecting to knock shoulders with the closest guy, but was hoisted into the air instead. She sat on their shoulders for a little while, until they carried her to the line. They quickly got the extra point that cinched the win and the defensive team went out- even they were checking shoulders. This would be the first win in seven years and put Fairy Tail back on top. They ran down the clock and held their own, only losing a few yards, determined not to let that one point go. Finally, the last buzzer rang and the players shook hands. On their way back, everything was drowned out by the screaming of the football players as they ran off the field and smacked shoulder pads with each other. The crowds didn't yell as much as they did when it was all over. Erza crowd surfed yet again and was brought over to the water cooler. Coach Gildarts was more than happy to stand by as she stood on the bench and dumped the contents of the opened container on him. He held up her hand and the announcer came on saying she was the first woman to score the winning touch down in our league's history.

Then, the crowd tried to storm the field. I jogged to the end of the bleachers to lock a gate so they didn't get in while the players cheered and ran over to the sidelines stopping short and waving at as many people as they could. I turned around and saw Levy run out to number 50. His helmet was by his side and his hair was held back in a hairband, but she smacked into him, making him stagger and he smiled, holding her to him with one arm.

I smiled to myself, not even noticing Natsu jogging up to me. I didn't realize he was there until he slowed to a walk and was a few feet away from me.

"So, I thought it was you," was the first thing he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Your sweatshirt. I thought it was you who wore it. I've seen that sweatshirt at every game. You always watch our football game but you're always alone and I wanted to talk to our number one fan. I had my thoughts, but I didn't know it was you until I saw the sweatshirt after school today," he smiled, "So hi. Did you enjoy the game?"

"Of course! It was great," I didn't want to tell him it was only recently I started coming for the game and tonight…. Well, tonight I came for a different reason altogether.

"So, what's it like? Being on the field and experiencing the plays as they happen?" I asked.

"What's it like being able to stay in suspense of the game and not knowing the outcomes like we do?" he asked.

I laughed, "Good point. Maybe we can talk about it over something that _won't_ explode on us."

"Or no throw up on my new jacket," he responded with a jab of his own.

"Or a dissected frog on the floor."

"Well," he laughed, "there's gonna be a party at my house and I'm taking Gajeel, too. So how about I pick up you and Levy- who I assume is the blue haired girl at his hip?" We looked over to him, and sure enough,it was indeed Levy who stood right there next to him. His arm was around her hip and she stood there with him, talking to Evergreen and Elfman who stood a little too close together to be natural.

"Yeah," I said with a smile, "That's her."

"Well, how about you leave your cars back at our school and I'll give you a ride to my house?" he asked.

"I just might have to take you up on that," I agreed. We walked back to the rest of his team and the cheerleaders. Levy and I cleaned up all the blankets and towels. I told her about Natsu's offer and she looked back at Gajeel and blushed again.

"You said yes?" she asked.

"Mhm," I nodded.

"So did I," she said. We walked back to my car and the football team finished cleaning up, so they went back to their bus. As did the marching band and the cheerleaders. We got to the parking lot and put all the blankets and towels in the trunk. I drove us back to the school and we listened to the night music and sang along all the way back to the school, talking here or there about the fact that we weren't tired and how energized the game was. Finally, we got back to Magnolia and back to Fairy Tail High. We sat in the car until the busses got back, then we waited outside the car for Natsu to come get us.

"You girls waiting for someone?" he said from behind us. I jumped, but Levy just laughed at Gajeel's arms around her as her surprise.

"My Jeep is over there," he pointed across the lot to a red Wrangler with no doors. Why he had no doors in the winter, I had no idea, I just knew the icy wind on my cheeks was freezing cold. Behind me, Levy seemed like she couldn't get enough of it. She put her arms up and complimented Natsu on his choice of car.

When we got to his house, there was barely a spot for him to pull in. We were almost the last people there. He had invited the marching band, too- which I thought was nice, but apparently it happened all year. There were people in the heated pool and the four of us just sat on the outside, looking in at all the swimmers. We talked about the game and Levy and I called our parents to tell them we would be sleeping over with a few of the cheerleaders we made friends with- not telling them it was at a football team party, but not really caring.

The party ended up dispersing around 2 AM. The marching band kids went home and a few drunken stragglers stayed. Evergreen and Elfman were passed out on the same lounge chair. Mirajane and Laxus had fallen asleep together on the couch. Erza and Jellal, the kicker, were the last to leave the pool, but they quickly got changed and slept on the futon Natsu had hidden in a closet. Erza found it saying, "Natsu, we've been friends forever and now I'm telling, not asking, you- I am sleeping here. On the beanbag you tried to hide from me." Natsu later told me that's all she slept on at his house. If she couldn't find it, she wouldn't sleep over. That only happened once, which is why he hides it. I figured it was a weird contest they had.

Gray got in late, because he went to pick up Juvia from her house so she could leave her car at home and they were currently propped against a wall in the TV room, making out.

"I think it's time to sleep," Gajeel said.

"Yeah, I hear you," Natsu agreed.

"So- guest rooms?" Levy asked, looking around at how full everything else was.

"Yeah, I'll show you up there as soon as I get Evergreen and Elfman inside," Natsu said, but Gajeel held out his hand.

"I got her," he brought Levy inside and he didn't come back down.

"I don't know what they're doing, but-" I started as Natsu woke up the couple on the chair. They wandered somewhere inside and Natsu stood in front of me.

"They're just sleeping up there. I know Gajeel doesn't look it, but he's trustworthy." I nodded.

"Well… what about me?" I asked.

"I mean. There's my room."

"At least take me out to dinner first," I joked. I didn't really mind, but I did wish I could have gotten a cot or something to sleep on.

"I don't get it," he shook his head.

"Um. Nevermind. But no funny business, okay?" I said.

"Agreed. Just let me turn off the pool lights and we'll go in, I swear this time." So he did and there was a ringing in my ears as the white noise of the lights went off.

"Come on," he ushered me through his house. It seemed like it had more rooms than just the few he let on, but they could have been anything. Finally, he brought me to a room he opened and stepped into. The walls were mostly bare, but I didn't really pay attention to them as I took my shoes off and climbed right into his double bed next to him.

"So tired," I muttered. His bed was against the far wall, so he laid with his back against that and I had my back against him. I blushed as I settled in, but found myself oddly relaxed and calmed. I wasn't sure if it was Natsu's presence, or that it was him over anyone else that I was innocently sleeping with.

"Goodnight," we said to each other and he showed me where the light switch was, just above my head. I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning, I woke up and Natsu's face was in front of mine. His arm was loosely draped around me and I could smell pancakes. Our legs were entwined and I was taken aback for a second. But, then I settled back in, thinking _This isn't so bad._ And I realized I wanted to put my arms around him, and did, burying my face in his chest. And I didn't move until I awoke again, hearing a smoke alarm go off and a loud curse. _Like father like son._


End file.
